The Armour Archive

Sean Powell

From memory since I don't have the book in front of me: Ffolkes, The Armorer and his Craft: Illustration and description of an armored jack using octagonal pieces of metal with a single hole laced to a piece of fabric (or between fabric?). Plates were laced with six strings through each hole providi...

Sean Powell

Nothing beets finding an armor in your area to talk shop with and maybe play with his tools if he will let you. If you are decided to go it alone: First project: Pair of spaulders in Larp thickness steel (18ga) 18 ga can be cut with aviation snips and a firm hand. The snips can also be used to cut l...

Sean Powell

I have newbies use the shop occasionally. Both Men and Women. I mark the public hammers with a band of green tape. I've also started labeling the shop scissors and other tools with green tape so "I" don't grab the wrong scissors. On the wall is a list of shop rules. Right below "Wear Your Damn Safet...

Sean Powell

Concerning item #3: 30k is more that I would spend for metal thats going to get dented with Rattan weekly and spend most of the rest of its life rolling around in the trunk of my car but 30k for a full suit would be low end for an armorer like MacPherson or Hedgecock. Take a look at the suit in this...

Sean Powell

My preference: 2 pieces of 1/4" luan with elmers wood glue. I edge with an alluminum C channel and goop on either 3/4" yellow cheep polly rope or 2" wide nylon webbing as a courtesy for my oponents. Cover with canvas and paint. Mind you I only do this for my demo shields. My practice shiled is old b...

Sean Powell

We figured it out recently. The 14ga pembridge a newbie built in my shop came to about $12.50 in steel and rivets. Maybe $20.00 after padding, chin strap and buckle. It did however take close to 20 hours of construction time... Plus the extra time it took to pollish AFTER riveting together. Why is i...

Sean Powell

Hmmm. Interesting copyright dilema. Are the pictures being HOSTED by a US site or are we pinging accross the atlantic on every web-page hit? If the pictures were hosted in America I suspect the hosting company could be sued for "Aiding and Aebetting" or similar. A simple cease and decist order from ...

Sean Powell

IMHO, as a marshal, a gauntlet should do two things. It should protect the hands and fingers from a strike perpendicular to the haft of the weapon. Additionally it thous protect the fingers from being grabbed and dislocated from strikes running nearly parallel with the haft. Pinky fingers are especi...

Sean Powell

Can we see picks of previous work? dosn't have to be spring but samples of shape might be useful. I have a commision request in for spring-steel gauntlets already but the wait could be interminably looooong. I might switch to what you produce so my vote would be towards oppinion and not necessaraliy...

Sean Powell

Potentially stupid question but why not punch holes in the leather and lace it like a lamellar? I assume it would be about the same price as rivets and a lot more forgiving if you need to resize or reshape or repair or anything else.

Sean

Sean Powell

Unlikely, Demand is too low and what little there is is demand for cost effective prices. Ultimitly the modern world no longer respects the skills of the artisan or manual laborer. Those people who are good with their hands are better off becoming plummers or electricians or auto-mechanics. In these...

Sean Powell

Good lord man! Its been raining here for the past 2 weeks, its barely above freezing at night and the backdrop you chose was a fine sand beach with clear blue waves? Do you think any of us paid any attention to the shield?!? Walk down the beach until you find someone attractive wearing a bikini and ...

Sean Powell

Duco,

All I see for pictures are Red X's and my computer asked me for a password I didn't have to a site I don't know about 8 times. They might be connected.

Sean

Sean Powell

Hello Rainier, Welcome to the archive. Ironmonger is (IMHO) a quality business servicing the SCA community. You will not be disappointed purchasing either armor or tools through him. LH and LARP groups might feel differently. 16Ga is the MINIMUM acceptable for an SCA helmet. I personally never sugge...

Sean Powell

You might consider Yarde Metal. They have an internet business for seconds and cast-offs. Size and thicknesses vary. There is also a minimum price order which dosn't always merge nicely with the max single package that UPS will ship but it might be a source for you.

http://www.yarde.com/cgi-bin/dropshop.p ... ++&form=SH

Good luck,
Sean

Sean Powell

WOW. and by the way, do you have any idea how much time it takes, going through all these auctions??? Especially when you're saving and filing the pictures and descriptions fof posterity? I've got 24 done, only 200 more to go! Destichado, I don't have the time presently to do all of the work that y...

Sean Powell

To the best of my knowledge, Bluing, which is an oxidization process, does not work on stainless because the chromium can not easily be encouraged to form different compositions when oxidizing. The best you can do with heat is to lay a layer of carbon on it which will A) look like shite B) scrape of...

Sean Powell

OK Jewlry, Electronics, actual silverware, motor vehicles, that I understand steeling. There is a large non-discriminating market for resale and it is transportable or provides its own transportation. Large pieces of contorted metal that serves a practical purpose only to hobiests? where is the logi...

Sean Powell

Well without doing a LOT of work there isn't much IMHO that can be done with the helm. You COULD cut some light gage steel and apply some banding and a nasal to the helm. You could then add a cain or cloth drape to cover the back and lower half of the bar-grill. Options include viking-migretion era ...

Sean Powell

For my oppinion I think you should consider dishing the top portions more. Once dished polish can be achieved by planishing and then hand starting at 100 or 150 grit and moving up through 200, 400 and 600 or 800 grit. You can see yourself in a good 600 grit surface. If you have power tools like a bu...

Sean Powell

Anubis, To the best of my knowledge the neck lames are attached to a layer of cloth or leather and not to straps or sliding rivet artulation. If you can contack the local SCA group and through them find Sir Geoffery Fitzgallen who is near you, he has done a fair abount of reaserch into harse armor. ...

Sean Powell

There isn't enough space on the archive to detail everything you could know about spin-forming. Luckilly we don't need to. That information is contained quite well in several manufacturing books. It is an old technique and has limited application in the modern manufacturing world so the older manufa...

Sean Powell

I'm from Quebec, so we will never experience here temperature as hot as in Colorado. But the best way to wipe out this memory the plastic has is to take them out of the oven (or after the heatgun thing), then shape it, then quench them in cold water (or snow, it's even better!). I disagree. I think...

Sean Powell

Any historical evidence for Greatswords having spikes on the quillons OTHER THAN greatswords used for judicial combat? If not, then why put one on? Perhaps to make it safe to strike an opponent with one in a manner that they would have been struck with in period combat? Yes a blunt quilion to an un...

Sean Powell

I would advise closly reading your marshals handbook as it concerns "Butt Spikes" which may or may not be allowed on great-swords in your kingdom. Please note that there are no contingincies for "Quillion Spikes" on greatswords or any other weapon that I can think of. As a minimum I would make sure ...

Sean Powell

My first set of legs, way back in my early days, were plastic cuises and demi-greaves on steel knees. Not the pretiest but we took care with the design to mimmic steel leg patterns and the 55gal barels they were cut from were a reddish brown that many people confused for leather from a distance. I t...

Sean Powell

The thing that clues me in to 99% of modern reproductions has nothing to do with the visor, or maybe less so. The difference I notice is that modern armorers don't add shape to something if it functions without it. Most modern recreation helms have 2 helm halves dished to a consistant spherical curv...

Sean Powell

Unless you are annealing in a vacume you are likely to add carbon to the exterior surface which will increase the likelyhood of it rusting. It will still rust LESS than mild steel but not be stain PROOF. Actualy no stainless is stain proof. Honestly unless you can find a dead-soft stainless alloy wi...

Sean Powell

Part of the (many) problems with SCA armor standards is a lack of engineering knowledge that went into writing them. The helm construction rules contain the following: "Helms will be riveted with iron or steel rivets no more than 2-1/2 inches (63.5 mm) apart, or with equivalent riveting techniques. ...

Sean Powell

Hence the reason certain armorers use mild rivets on stainless plates. They don't want to /can't bother too put the added effort of peening the hard little F***ers. My stainless demo suit (Illusion armory from 6+ years ago) has mild rivets except where I have replaced them. I don't bother to replace...

Sean Powell

Did you build your own copper hinges as well?

Sean

Sean Powell

Surprisingly I've recently decided I can't drink all that much coke-cola but I can down a 2-liter of Dew and still want more. Mind you a 2-liter of dew in 3 hours leaves me alert but not really jittery. Now if you happen to be a fan of the dew-vodka mix or similar concoctions let me tell you a story...

Sean Powell

70 hits and no response isn't that uncommon. Most people here (including myself) are pounders not weavers so you don't have the same skill set as the maile-artisins board. Then again most of the topics I saw there were about maile jewelry so you are in kind of an inbetween topic. Without pictures th...

Sean Powell

Oooh, Sweet. If you are looking for recomendations rather than just "Nice suit" comments I might recomend a few. First: Start by shortening the camail, preferably with a dagged edge and add brass trim. If the maile is the same size you can lengthen the sleeves slightly over only the inside elbow. Sa...

Sean Powell

Too long/short or too narrow wide?
Leather, plastic, mild, stainless, spring or titanium?
How is the articulation?
What is your tool selection like?
What is your armoring experience like?
What material/budget do you have to work with?
Pictures would be useful.

Sean